News, Community, and Historical Thinking

What We’re Reading: October 1, 2009 Edition

New this week, some Iowa history classrooms are embracing primary resources over textbooks, a British man and his metal detector unearth seventh-century treasures, the Gilder Lehrman Institute releases an issue of History Now on the American Revolution, the National Security Archive joins Facebook, and Google Books features every issue of LIFE ever published. Then, we bring you two articles on NARA: one on NARA’s proposal (and request for public comments) to issue researcher ID cards, and the other on NARA documents on Footnote.com.
Finally, for fun, check out a database of historic bridges, a “virtual postcard tour of Algiers,” and a look at some National Park posters.

News

History Class Dumps Textbooks, Gets Personal
With the financial backing of a $1.5 million Teaching American History grant, three Iowa high schools have decided to implement primary accounts and sources rather than traditional pedagogy centering on textbooks and lectures. Stefanie Rosenberg-Cortés, one of the participating teachers, believes that this new teaching approach allows students to delve into original documents and firsthand accounts, not simply read historical concepts from a book.

Experts Awed by Anglo-Saxon Treasure
A man in Staffordshire, England has unearthed treasures from the seventh-century in a farmer’s field, with the help of his metal detector. Researchers are calling it “one of the most important [finds] in British archaeological history“ and it has been valued at about $1.6 million.

New Facebook Page Features Archive’s Top Ten Declassified Documents
The National Security Archive created its own Facebook page this month. One of its features is an album of the “Top 10 Declassified Documents,” including “a top-secret strategy paper for fighting al-Qaeda given to the Bush White House on January 25, 2001; a CIA report on using cats with surgically implanted listening devices to spy on Russian embassies; and records from the FBI interrogations of Saddam Hussein.”

NARA Proposes New Researcher ID Cards
The National Coalition for History reports on a new proposal from NARA to require researchers to have a special researcher identification card. NARA is looking for public input on this proposal and will accept comments until November 24, 2009.

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Comment

I guess I don’t quite see the hoopla over the NARA researcher ID card proposal. It looks specific to the DC and regional locations – however, anyone who goes to the College Park location has to get an ID card – which I’ve found is good at a regional facility (St. Louis) and also got me into the DC facility. The Library of Congress requires an ID card, and given that NARA already requires ID cards at one facility, this doesn’t seem problematic – unless I’m missing something…

As always – thanks for the links! I love the “what we’re reading” feature.